'AIPAC the Most Important Event in Jewish Life'

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun discusses the AIPAC conference and also shares a story about Yitzhak Herzog.

Uzi Baruch, 03/03/15 04:43

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein

Arutz Sheva

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of the Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side of Manhattan spoke to Arutz Sheva on the sidelines of the AIPAC 2015 annual conference.

Rabbi Lookstein stressed the importance of the conference, which he said is “one of the most important events in Jewish life in America.”

“I feel like I can do more for the State of Israel by simply showing up at the AIPAC conference, “ he said, adding that the conference shows that “the tie between the United States and the State of Israel is absolutely firm and must remain firm.”

“I don’t know about the relationship between the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of the United States. It’s obviously not a great relationship and I have nothing to say about whether [Netanyahu] should have come or should not have come,” said Rabbi Lookstein, who added, “I do know one thing: The speech that he will give in Congress is very very important for all Americans to hear and for the members of Congress to hear.”

Finally, Rabbi Lookstein had a short anecdote to share about MK Yitzhak Herzog, one of the leaders of the “Zionist Camp”. Herzog was a student of Rabbi Lookstein’s at the Ramaz School, a yeshiva on the Upper East Side of Manhattan which Rabbi Lookstein heads. Herzog resided in New York as a teenager while his father, former President Chaim Herzog, served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN.

“Buji Herzog was a wonderful Torah reader and I taught him how to read the megillot (scrolls) of Esther, Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) and Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs). He was a wonderful student, a delightful young man and he hasn’t changed all of these years,” recalled Rabbi Lookstein.